April 3, 2006
We have sad news this week. Lance, the cat, died last night, in my arms. We don't know the cause; our guess is old age, something wrong inside like a tumor or cancer or he got around something outside that wasn't good for him. There was little warning that something was wrong, except the night before he was moving slowly. I had just this past week put his cat box back on the porch as we had him inside all winter, and it was warm enough for him to be on the porch again. Yesterday morning, when Arthur left for work, Jake was there as usual, but Lance wasn't and I called for him. He came (very slowly) from across the street but wouldn't come inside. I called him all through the morning, as he was walking (so slowly) back and forth across the side yard. I went out to round him up and bring him in, and he was nowhere I could find him. Finally, he was just sitting at the bottom of the stairs, and I don't think he had the energy to come up the stairs.
I went and got him, brought him upstairs, bundled him up to dry him off, and put him on the couch. He came in the kitchen where his food and water are and tried to drink his water, but was too weak to manage it. I took away his water bowl and put a flat saucer of water down for him, he took a few sips and his head rather lolled in the saucer dish. It was too late in the day to take him to the Vet, and I called Arthur to tell him that I think Lance is dying. I took Lance, all bundled up and just sat on the couch with him till Arthur got home. Arthur took him, still bundled, upstairs and held him to say his good-byes. I took him back and kept him on couch with me, stroking him, petting him, but he could no longer purr. He tried but it was more a vibration than a purr, and then he gave a couple of small gasp sounds, and there was no more vibration. We had been checking his breathing and when he gave those last gasps, there was no more movemet. He had died in my arms.
Today, I'm so sad because I feel like I lost a friend - really. Lance took to me and went everywhere with me, upstairs, downstairs, outside, kitchen, basement. Every morning Arthur and I turn on our computers in upstairs room, and Lance is right there ready to jump up in my lap. It was part of our morning routine. I used to say 'not yet Lance, it's too early' but he'd jump up anyway. He'd sit and stretch out across my shoulder and purr like crazy. If I went downstairs for another cup of coffee, I'd give him to Arthur and he'd stretch out across Arthur's comfortable sitting spot on his belly and stretch out across his shoulder. When I came back, Lance would come back over to me and do some more sitting, stretching out, purring, sleeping. Whenever I sat down to watch tv, Lance would always come and jump on me, do that kneading motion on whatever blanket I was using to keep warm, then curl up when he got comfortable and stay with me till we went to bed.
I can't believe how much a friend a cat can be, and I never wanted a cat, took in Lance, and he took me in is more like it and became good companions. I will miss him much, every single day. We will bury him by the Harry Lauder tree, so he can always be with me in the yard when I am doing gardening and yard work.
Lance lived for about 7 yrs with Bree's family, and when her family moved to Germany, after Woody returned from Iraq, Lance was fostered out to us. We fostered him to Lica's family where he was intimidated by her family cats, so back to us. We have had Lance for almost 2 yrs, and he became part of our family in strong way.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Lance, our family cat passed away
April 3, 2006
We have sad news this week. Lance, the cat, died last night, in my arms. We don't know the cause; our guess is old age, something wrong inside like a tumor or cancer or he got around something outside that wasn't good for him. There was little warning that something was wrong, except the night before he was moving slowly. I had just this past week put his cat box back on the porch as we had him inside all winter, and it was warm enough for him to be on the porch again. Yesterday morning, when Arthur left for work, Jake was there as usual, but Lance wasn't and I called for him. He came (very slowly) from across the street but wouldn't come inside. I called him all through the morning, as he was walking (so slowly) back and forth across the side yard. I went out to round him up and bring him in, and he was nowhere I could find him. Finally, he was just sitting at the bottom of the stairs, and I don't think he had the energy to come up the stairs.
I went and got him, brought him upstairs, bundled him up to dry him off, and put him on the couch. He came in the kitchen where his food and water are and tried to drink his water, but was too weak to manage it. I took away his water bowl and put a flat saucer of water down for him, he took a few sips and his head rather lolled in the saucer dish. It was too late in the day to take him to the Vet, and I called Arthur to tell him that I think Lance is dying. I took Lance, all bundled up and just sat on the couch with him till Arthur got home. Arthur took him, still bundled, upstairs and held him to say his good-byes. I took him back and kept him on couch with me, stroking him, petting him, but he could no longer purr. He tried but it was more a vibration than a purr, and then he gave a couple of small gasp sounds, and there was no more vibration. We had been checking his breathing and when he gave those last gasps, there was no more movemet. He had died in my arms.
Today, I'm so sad because I feel like I lost a friend - really. Lance took to me and went everywhere with me, upstairs, downstairs, outside, kitchen, basement. Every morning Arthur and I turn on our computers in upstairs room, and Lance is right there ready to jump up in my lap. It was part of our morning routine. I used to say 'not yet Lance, it's too early' but he'd jump up anyway. He'd sit and stretch out across my shoulder and purr like crazy. If I went downstairs for another cup of coffee, I'd give him to Arthur and he'd stretch out across Arthur's comfortable sitting spot on his belly and stretch out across his shoulder. When I came back, Lance would come back over to me and do some more sitting, stretching out, purring, sleeping. Whenever I sat down to watch tv, Lance would always come and jump on me, do that kneading motion on whatever blanket I was using to keep warm, then curl up when he got comfortable and stay with me till we went to bed.
I can't believe how much a friend a cat can be, and I never wanted a cat, took in Lance, and he took me in is more like it and became good companions. I will miss him much, every single day. We will bury him by the Harry Lauder tree, so he can always be with me in the yard when I am doing gardening and yard work.
Lance lived for about 7 yrs with Bree's family, and when her family moved to Germany, after Woody returned from Iraq, Lance was fostered out to us. We fostered him to Lica's family where he was intimidated by her family cats, so back to us. We have had Lance for almost 2 yrs, and he became part of our family in strong way.
We have sad news this week. Lance, the cat, died last night, in my arms. We don't know the cause; our guess is old age, something wrong inside like a tumor or cancer or he got around something outside that wasn't good for him. There was little warning that something was wrong, except the night before he was moving slowly. I had just this past week put his cat box back on the porch as we had him inside all winter, and it was warm enough for him to be on the porch again. Yesterday morning, when Arthur left for work, Jake was there as usual, but Lance wasn't and I called for him. He came (very slowly) from across the street but wouldn't come inside. I called him all through the morning, as he was walking (so slowly) back and forth across the side yard. I went out to round him up and bring him in, and he was nowhere I could find him. Finally, he was just sitting at the bottom of the stairs, and I don't think he had the energy to come up the stairs.
I went and got him, brought him upstairs, bundled him up to dry him off, and put him on the couch. He came in the kitchen where his food and water are and tried to drink his water, but was too weak to manage it. I took away his water bowl and put a flat saucer of water down for him, he took a few sips and his head rather lolled in the saucer dish. It was too late in the day to take him to the Vet, and I called Arthur to tell him that I think Lance is dying. I took Lance, all bundled up and just sat on the couch with him till Arthur got home. Arthur took him, still bundled, upstairs and held him to say his good-byes. I took him back and kept him on couch with me, stroking him, petting him, but he could no longer purr. He tried but it was more a vibration than a purr, and then he gave a couple of small gasp sounds, and there was no more vibration. We had been checking his breathing and when he gave those last gasps, there was no more movemet. He had died in my arms.
Today, I'm so sad because I feel like I lost a friend - really. Lance took to me and went everywhere with me, upstairs, downstairs, outside, kitchen, basement. Every morning Arthur and I turn on our computers in upstairs room, and Lance is right there ready to jump up in my lap. It was part of our morning routine. I used to say 'not yet Lance, it's too early' but he'd jump up anyway. He'd sit and stretch out across my shoulder and purr like crazy. If I went downstairs for another cup of coffee, I'd give him to Arthur and he'd stretch out across Arthur's comfortable sitting spot on his belly and stretch out across his shoulder. When I came back, Lance would come back over to me and do some more sitting, stretching out, purring, sleeping. Whenever I sat down to watch tv, Lance would always come and jump on me, do that kneading motion on whatever blanket I was using to keep warm, then curl up when he got comfortable and stay with me till we went to bed.
I can't believe how much a friend a cat can be, and I never wanted a cat, took in Lance, and he took me in is more like it and became good companions. I will miss him much, every single day. We will bury him by the Harry Lauder tree, so he can always be with me in the yard when I am doing gardening and yard work.
Lance lived for about 7 yrs with Bree's family, and when her family moved to Germany, after Woody returned from Iraq, Lance was fostered out to us. We fostered him to Lica's family where he was intimidated by her family cats, so back to us. We have had Lance for almost 2 yrs, and he became part of our family in strong way.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Spring - time for yard and garden - where's those helping grandkids!
Giving the Harry Lauder Walking Stick tree a much-needed trim and setting out some of those early spring primroses and pansies launched us into our spring clean-up. After the winds and rains of winter, our yard looks strewn with debris and left-over projects undone from the end of last fall.
So, getting the planting station in the carport ready for a new spring workout, we got the area cleaned out. Since we tore out the carpet in the main floor of the house, it had been taken outside to the temporary place under the carport. Sweetie got it all hauled out and loaded into his little pick-up to go to the local landfill. Swept out the winter leaves, and tidied up the area. Found grandchildren's toys from last August when the family stayed with us....ahhhh, miss them all so much.
Pruned up the wild fushia bush and took down it's height. That and a hefty pruning of the Harry Lauder Walking Stick tree and we have some serious burn-barrel fires in store. Maybe our neighbor will be as accomodating as last year and haul it to his burn pile for disposal. First spring lawn mowing done. General clean up in the yard and it is already looking much better - ready for spring and new projects.
The kitchen vegetable garden needs tilling and new plantings and I'd like to expand the vegetable garden this year. My vision of it requires more back-breaking labor than either of us really want to expend, so looking for some easy short cuts to make more raised beds for growing more vegetables. I'd like to try the upside down tomatoes this year. I also thought of getting several half whiskey barrels and planting in them.
I've taken on gardening as a leisurely hobby, outdoor exercise and that great feeling of being connected to nature. But I've wanted to get serious about my kitchen vegetable garden as a means of producing some of our food. I'll NEVER want to learn how to do canning thought, but I'm receptive to the art of 'freezing' what I can of the harvest.
We had a small windfall of a bit of extra $$, so I went out to the garden store where I spent 4 hours just looking at every item; envisioning my entire spring and summer and what I could do; then did a reality check and made a list of what I most wanted right now that would fit the small bonus $$ amount. In my mind I spent several hundred $$ but my reality was quite different than my mental shopping spree. In my mind I had lined up to buy 3 trees, 4 bushes, a new wrought iron with canopy outside room, redwood patio set, water fountain gardens for several places in the yard, trellises, wheelbarrow, electric roto-tiller, red lava rock, mulching, mini-greenhouses in several sizes, several more whiskey barrel planters and hundreds of packets of seeds, bulbs and tubers. WoW - had a great time imagining all I could buy....but the few 20 dollar bills in my wallet just wouldn't stretch that far.
With carefully pruning away my mental shopping, I made a list of what I could buy with my real available dollars. I bought pruning shears (boring), potting soil (boring), seed packets (fun - but I had to put about 50 packets back - over my budget), a new tree = Mt Fuji white cherry, the usual assortment of primroses, pansies, and a few other 2' starter flowers, and I found 3 summer tops at price I couldn't resist so I treated myself.
It was time to refer back to my Wee Garden website and update it some, and I learned something about the climate zone where I live in Pacific coastal area. It's not zone 8 like the gardening books and USDA climate zone tell me; it's zone 5 because of the Pacific winds and climate zone. Well, the good news is that with zone 5, the last frost is later than zone 8, so the planting season is later. Might explain why all the seeds I've started for the last 3 years don't seem to germinate. I need to start them later and actually create a greenhouse environment for them of heat, light and moisture. Forget tomatoes, no way in the climate zone I'm in with short, short hot season can I grow them from seed. Sounds like my instincts to buy starter vegetable plants from the nursery is well-founded.
Now where's those grand-darlings to help me with my yard. They really were very helpful and willing workers with the taskings of the yard. Emily hauling off sod to the back, Drew using the big person shovel to dig a hole, their fascination with the worms when we turned the soil.....ahhhhh, I need my families to live closer. All this training them towards their own independence and they are all making their own lives their own way in different parts of the country. I miss them all. I always wanted to own acerage that would allow for building several homes in one place and having family close by but I'm also wanting mostly that they flourish in their own lives.
So, getting the planting station in the carport ready for a new spring workout, we got the area cleaned out. Since we tore out the carpet in the main floor of the house, it had been taken outside to the temporary place under the carport. Sweetie got it all hauled out and loaded into his little pick-up to go to the local landfill. Swept out the winter leaves, and tidied up the area. Found grandchildren's toys from last August when the family stayed with us....ahhhh, miss them all so much.
Pruned up the wild fushia bush and took down it's height. That and a hefty pruning of the Harry Lauder Walking Stick tree and we have some serious burn-barrel fires in store. Maybe our neighbor will be as accomodating as last year and haul it to his burn pile for disposal. First spring lawn mowing done. General clean up in the yard and it is already looking much better - ready for spring and new projects.
The kitchen vegetable garden needs tilling and new plantings and I'd like to expand the vegetable garden this year. My vision of it requires more back-breaking labor than either of us really want to expend, so looking for some easy short cuts to make more raised beds for growing more vegetables. I'd like to try the upside down tomatoes this year. I also thought of getting several half whiskey barrels and planting in them.
I've taken on gardening as a leisurely hobby, outdoor exercise and that great feeling of being connected to nature. But I've wanted to get serious about my kitchen vegetable garden as a means of producing some of our food. I'll NEVER want to learn how to do canning thought, but I'm receptive to the art of 'freezing' what I can of the harvest.
We had a small windfall of a bit of extra $$, so I went out to the garden store where I spent 4 hours just looking at every item; envisioning my entire spring and summer and what I could do; then did a reality check and made a list of what I most wanted right now that would fit the small bonus $$ amount. In my mind I spent several hundred $$ but my reality was quite different than my mental shopping spree. In my mind I had lined up to buy 3 trees, 4 bushes, a new wrought iron with canopy outside room, redwood patio set, water fountain gardens for several places in the yard, trellises, wheelbarrow, electric roto-tiller, red lava rock, mulching, mini-greenhouses in several sizes, several more whiskey barrel planters and hundreds of packets of seeds, bulbs and tubers. WoW - had a great time imagining all I could buy....but the few 20 dollar bills in my wallet just wouldn't stretch that far.
With carefully pruning away my mental shopping, I made a list of what I could buy with my real available dollars. I bought pruning shears (boring), potting soil (boring), seed packets (fun - but I had to put about 50 packets back - over my budget), a new tree = Mt Fuji white cherry, the usual assortment of primroses, pansies, and a few other 2' starter flowers, and I found 3 summer tops at price I couldn't resist so I treated myself.
It was time to refer back to my Wee Garden website and update it some, and I learned something about the climate zone where I live in Pacific coastal area. It's not zone 8 like the gardening books and USDA climate zone tell me; it's zone 5 because of the Pacific winds and climate zone. Well, the good news is that with zone 5, the last frost is later than zone 8, so the planting season is later. Might explain why all the seeds I've started for the last 3 years don't seem to germinate. I need to start them later and actually create a greenhouse environment for them of heat, light and moisture. Forget tomatoes, no way in the climate zone I'm in with short, short hot season can I grow them from seed. Sounds like my instincts to buy starter vegetable plants from the nursery is well-founded.
Now where's those grand-darlings to help me with my yard. They really were very helpful and willing workers with the taskings of the yard. Emily hauling off sod to the back, Drew using the big person shovel to dig a hole, their fascination with the worms when we turned the soil.....ahhhhh, I need my families to live closer. All this training them towards their own independence and they are all making their own lives their own way in different parts of the country. I miss them all. I always wanted to own acerage that would allow for building several homes in one place and having family close by but I'm also wanting mostly that they flourish in their own lives.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
The Country Cottage Garden - Easy as 1, 2, 3
The Country Cottage Garden - Easy as 1, 2, 3:
Adapted from Heirloom Country Gardens, by Sarah Wolfgang Heffner (Rodale Press, 2000).
Simple Solution
A cottage garden is the ultimate country dream come true, where flowers mix with herbs and vegetables in colorful abandon. You’ll love cutting fresh flowers for bouquets, snipping herbs and lettuces for salad, and picking tender beans for dinner.
The real-life cottage gardens of English history were commonly mixed plantings of vegetables, fruits, and herbs, complete with honeybees, chickens, and perhaps a family pig. As time went on and living conditions became less harsh, more flowers were added to cottage gardens.
The joy of these gardens is their casual, informal appearance. They should not be overly neat and tidy! All you really have to worry about is thinning vigorous perennials every few years so that they don’t over step their boundaries! Here is a list of 20 plants to get started. Print it out and take it with you next time you go to the local garden nursery:
Sneezeweed
Honesty
Feverfew
Bacherlor’s button
Hollyhock
Johnny-jump-up
Lemon lily
Golden glow
Garden phlox
Sage
Scarlet runner bean
Thymes
Dill
Borage
Mints
Peonies
Foxglove
Jasmine tobacco
Wild columbine
Bleeding heart"
Adapted from Heirloom Country Gardens, by Sarah Wolfgang Heffner (Rodale Press, 2000).
Simple Solution
A cottage garden is the ultimate country dream come true, where flowers mix with herbs and vegetables in colorful abandon. You’ll love cutting fresh flowers for bouquets, snipping herbs and lettuces for salad, and picking tender beans for dinner.
The real-life cottage gardens of English history were commonly mixed plantings of vegetables, fruits, and herbs, complete with honeybees, chickens, and perhaps a family pig. As time went on and living conditions became less harsh, more flowers were added to cottage gardens.
The joy of these gardens is their casual, informal appearance. They should not be overly neat and tidy! All you really have to worry about is thinning vigorous perennials every few years so that they don’t over step their boundaries! Here is a list of 20 plants to get started. Print it out and take it with you next time you go to the local garden nursery:
Sneezeweed
Honesty
Feverfew
Bacherlor’s button
Hollyhock
Johnny-jump-up
Lemon lily
Golden glow
Garden phlox
Sage
Scarlet runner bean
Thymes
Dill
Borage
Mints
Peonies
Foxglove
Jasmine tobacco
Wild columbine
Bleeding heart"
Time to hit the garden and yard .. my climate zone
So, I learned something today. I had thought where I live the climate zone per USDA Hardiness chart was in zone 8-9. Ahh, but I found the below today which points out my maritime environment puts me more in line with Zone 5. Now I will adjust my planting times accordingly.
Also, it's April 1, and I'm eager to start the seedlings, and I learned something else about planting some of the vegetables too early. From Washington state Master Gardener's website; Everything can go into the ground now, except the heat loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, cukes, corn and basil.
Sunset Climate Zones, Oregon State Univ., LANDSCAPE PLANTS
In the Sunset Western Garden Book (1996, 2001, Sunset Pub. Corp., Menlo Park, Calif.), the western U.S. is divided into 24 Climate Zones. These Climate Zones do NOT correspond to the USDA Hardiness Zones.
Sunset's Climate Zones are based on winter minimum temperatures, but also include other factors such as summer high temperatures, length of growing season, humidity, and rainfall. This approach is used to avoid the difficulties encountered when the USDA Hardiness Zones are applied to parts of the western U.S. For example, with the USDA Hardiness Zones, the Olympic rain forest in Washington State is in the same Hardiness Zone, Zone 8, as part of Arizona's Sonora Desert. Seven Sunset Climate Zones are used to cover Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. They are:
Zone 1Coldest Winters in the West In this Zone, snow falls and stays on the ground (from a day to all winter) and the growing season is from 75 to 150 days, but frost may occur on any night of the year. The Cascades and most of Central and Eastern Oregon are in this Zone, including the Oregon cities of Bend, Redmond, Burns, etc.
Zone 2 Second-Coldest Western Climate Here snow is expected but the average annual winter temperatures are higher than in Zone 1; they range from -3o to -34o F. A few lower elevation sites in Eastern Oregon, such as LaGrand and Baker City, are in Zone 2, as are Spokane and Pullman, Washington, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Zone 3 Mildest of High-Elevation and Interior Climates This Zone is often called the "banana belt" since the winter are fairly mild, but minimum temperatures may range from 13o to -24o F. The growing season can be shorter than in Zone 2, but the winter temperatures are always higher. Oregon's Coastal Mountains, as well as the Oregon cities of Hood River, The Dalles, Pendleton, and Ontario, and Boise, Idaho, have Zone 3 climates.
Zone 5 Marine Influence Along the Northwest Coast Mild ocean air bring relatively warm winters in this Zone. Minimum temperatures range from 28o to 1o F, although in some year a "big freeze" can cause considerable damage to plants. Zone 5 extends from the Puget Sound area in Washington, including Seattle and Tacoma, south along the Pacific Coast to north of Brookings, Oregon, including Astoria, Newport, Coos Bay.
Zone 6 Willamette Valley Warmer summers distinguish this Zone from Zone 5, average temperatures being 5o to 9o F higher. Average winter lows are similar or lower than those of Zone 5. Much of the Valley has a long growing season, with 279 days in Portland. However, Portland may also experience icy winds blowing down the Columbia. Zone 6 extends from Longview, Washington to Roseburg, Oregon. This of course includes Salem, Corvallis, and Eugene, Oregon.
Zone 7 Oregon's Rogue River Valley: This Zone has hot summers and mild but pronounced winters. Typical winter lows range from 23o to 9o F, record lows vary from 15o to -1o F. The Oregon cities of Grants Pass, Medford, and Ashland are in Zone 7.
Zone 17 Marine Effects in Extreme Southwestern Oregon and Northern California A narrow strip along the Coast between Gold Beach and Brookings, Oregon is in this Zone (as is the Coast of Northern California and much of the Bay Area).
Also, it's April 1, and I'm eager to start the seedlings, and I learned something else about planting some of the vegetables too early. From Washington state Master Gardener's website; Everything can go into the ground now, except the heat loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, cukes, corn and basil.
Sunset Climate Zones, Oregon State Univ., LANDSCAPE PLANTS
Sunset's Climate Zones
In the Sunset Western Garden Book (1996, 2001, Sunset Pub. Corp., Menlo Park, Calif.), the western U.S. is divided into 24 Climate Zones. These Climate Zones do NOT correspond to the USDA Hardiness Zones.
Sunset's Climate Zones are based on winter minimum temperatures, but also include other factors such as summer high temperatures, length of growing season, humidity, and rainfall. This approach is used to avoid the difficulties encountered when the USDA Hardiness Zones are applied to parts of the western U.S. For example, with the USDA Hardiness Zones, the Olympic rain forest in Washington State is in the same Hardiness Zone, Zone 8, as part of Arizona's Sonora Desert. Seven Sunset Climate Zones are used to cover Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. They are:
Zone 1
Time to hit the garden and yard .. my climate zone
So, I learned something today. I had thought where I live the climate zone per USDA Hardiness chart was in zone 8-9. Ahh, but I found the below today which points out my maritime environment puts me more in line with Zone 5. Now I will adjust my planting times accordingly.
Also, it's April 1, and I'm eager to start the seedlings, and I learned something else about planting some of the vegetables too early. (Lietta)
From Washington state Master Gardener's website; Everything can go into the ground now, except the heat loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, cukes, corn and basil.
Sunset Climate Zones, Oregon State Univ., LANDSCAPE PLANTS
Sunset's Climate Zones are based on winter minimum temperatures, but also include other factors such as summer high temperatures, length of growing season, humidity, and rainfall. This approach is used to avoid the difficulties encountered when the USDA Hardiness Zones are applied to parts of the western U.S. For example, with the USDA Hardiness Zones, the Olympic rain forest in Washington State is in the same Hardiness Zone, Zone 8, as part of Arizona's Sonora Desert. Seven Sunset Climate Zones are used to cover Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. They are:
Zone 1
Coldest Winters in the West In this Zone, snow falls and stays on the ground (from a day to all winter) and the growing season is from 75 to 150 days, but frost may occur on any night of the year. The Cascades and most of Central and Eastern Oregon are in this Zone, including the Oregon cities of Bend, Redmond, Burns, etc. Zone 2
Second-Coldest Western Climate Here snow is expected but the average annual winter temperatures are higher than in Zone 1; they range from -3o to -34o F. A few lower elevation sites in Eastern Oregon, such as LaGrand and Baker City, are in Zone 2, as are Spokane and Pullman, Washington, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Zone 3
Mildest of High-Elevation and Interior Climates This Zone is often called the "banana belt" since the winter are fairly mild, but minimum temperatures may range from 13o to -24o F. The growing season can be shorter than in Zone 2, but the winter temperatures are always higher. Oregon's Coastal Mountains, as well as the Oregon cities of Hood River, The Dalles, Pendleton, and Ontario, and Boise, Idaho, have Zone 3 climates. Zone 5
Marine Influence Along the Northwest Coast Mild ocean air bring relatively warm winters in this Zone. Minimum temperatures range from 28o to 1o F, although in some year a "big freeze" can cause considerable damage to plants. Zone 5 extends from the Puget Sound area in Washington, including Seattle and Tacoma, south along the Pacific Coast to north of Brookings, Oregon, including Astoria, Newport, Coos Bay. Zone 6
Willamette Valley Warmer summers distinguish this Zone from Zone 5, average temperatures being 5o to 9o F higher. Average winter lows are similar or lower than those of Zone 5. Much of the Valley has a long growing season, with 279 days in Portland. However, Portland may also experience icy winds blowing down the Columbia. Zone 6 extends from Longview, Washington to Roseburg, Oregon. This of course includes Salem, Corvallis, and Eugene, Oregon. Zone 7
Oregon's Rogue River Valley: This Zone has hot summers and mild but pronounced winters. Typical winter lows range from 23o to 9o F, record lows vary from 15o to -1o F. The Oregon cities of Grants Pass, Medford, and Ashland are in Zone 7. Zone 17
Marine Effects in Extreme Southwestern Oregon and Northern California A narrow strip along the Coast between Gold Beach and Brookings, Oregon is in this Zone (as is the Coast of Northern California and much of the Bay Area). posted by Lietta Ruger
Also, it's April 1, and I'm eager to start the seedlings, and I learned something else about planting some of the vegetables too early. (Lietta)
From Washington state Master Gardener's website; Everything can go into the ground now, except the heat loving crops like tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, cukes, corn and basil.
Sunset Climate Zones, Oregon State Univ., LANDSCAPE PLANTS
Sunset's Climate Zones
In the Sunset Western Garden Book (1996, 2001, Sunset Pub. Corp., Menlo Park, Calif.), the western U.S. is divided into 24 Climate Zones. These Climate Zones do NOT correspond to the USDA Hardiness Zones. Sunset's Climate Zones are based on winter minimum temperatures, but also include other factors such as summer high temperatures, length of growing season, humidity, and rainfall. This approach is used to avoid the difficulties encountered when the USDA Hardiness Zones are applied to parts of the western U.S. For example, with the USDA Hardiness Zones, the Olympic rain forest in Washington State is in the same Hardiness Zone, Zone 8, as part of Arizona's Sonora Desert. Seven Sunset Climate Zones are used to cover Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. They are:
Zone 1
Spring - time for yard and garden - where's those helping grandkids!
Giving the Harry Lauder Walking Stick tree a much-needed trim and setting out some of those early spring primroses and pansies launched us into our spring clean-up. After the winds and rains of winter, our yard looks strewn with debris and left-over projects undone from the end of last fall.
So, getting the planting station in the carport ready for a new spring workout, we got the area cleaned out. Since we tore out the carpet in the main floor of the house, it had been taken outside to the temporary place under the carport. Sweetie got it all hauled out and loaded into his little pick-up to go to the local landfill. Swept out the winter leaves, and tidied up the area. Found grandchildren's toys from last August when the family stayed with us....ahhhh, miss them all so much.
Pruned up the wild fushia bush and took down it's height. That and a hefty pruning of the Harry Lauder Walking Stick tree and we have some serious burn-barrel fires in store. Maybe our neighbor will be as accomodating as last year and haul it to his burn pile for disposal. First spring lawn mowing done. General clean up in the yard and it is already looking much better - ready for spring and new projects.
The kitchen vegetable garden needs tilling and new plantings and I'd like to expand the vegetable garden this year. My vision of it requires more back-breaking labor than either of us really want to expend, so looking for some easy short cuts to make more raised beds for growing more vegetables. I'd like to try the upside down tomatoes this year. I also thought of getting several half whiskey barrels and planting in them.
I've taken on gardening as a leisurely hobby, outdoor exercise and that great feeling of being connected to nature. But I've wanted to get serious about my kitchen vegetable garden as a means of producing some of our food. I'll NEVER want to learn how to do canning thought, but I'm receptive to the art of 'freezing' what I can of the harvest.
We had a small windfall of a bit of extra $, so I went out to the garden store where I spent 4 hours just looking at every item; envisioning my entire spring and summer and what I could do; then did a reality check and made a list of what I most wanted right now that would fit the small bonus $ amount. In my mind I spent several hundred $ but my reality was quite different than my mental shopping spree. In my mind I had lined up to buy 3 trees, 4 bushes, a new wrought iron with canopy outside room, redwood patio set, water fountain gardens for several places in the yard, trellises, wheelbarrow, electric roto-tiller, red lava rock, mulching, mini-greenhouses in several sizes, several more whiskey barrel planters and hundreds of packets of seeds, bulbs and tubers. WoW - had a great time imagining all I could buy....but the few 20 dollar bills in my wallet just wouldn't stretch that far.
With carefully pruning away my mental shopping, I made a list of what I could buy with my real available dollars. I bought pruning shears (boring), potting soil (boring), seed packets (fun - but I had to put about 50 packets back - over my budget), a new tree = Mt Fuji white cherry, the usual assortment of primroses, pansies, and a few other 2' starter flowers, and I found 3 summer tops at price I couldn't resist so I treated myself.
It was time to refer back to my Wee Garden website and update it some, and I learned something about the climate zone where I live in Pacific coastal area. It's not zone 8 like the gardening books and USDA climate zone tell me; it's zone 5 because of the Pacific winds and climate zone. Well, the good news is that with zone 5, the last frost is later than zone 8, so the planting season is later. Might explain why all the seeds I've started for the last 3 years don't seem to germinate. I need to start them later and actually create a greenhouse environment for them of heat, light and moisture. Forget tomatoes, no way in the climate zone I'm in with short, short hot season can I grow them from seed. Sounds like my instincts to buy starter vegetable plants from the nursery is well-founded.
Now where's those grand-darlings to help me with my yard. They really were very helpful and willing workers with the taskings of the yard. Emily hauling off sod to the back, Drew using the big person shovel to dig a hole, their fascination with the worms when we turned the soil.....ahhhhh, I need my families to live closer. All this training them towards their own independence and they are all making their own lives their own way in different parts of the country. I miss them all. I always wanted to own acerage that would allow for building several homes in one place and having family close by but I'm also wanting mostly that they flourish in their own lives.
posted by Lietta Ruger
So, getting the planting station in the carport ready for a new spring workout, we got the area cleaned out. Since we tore out the carpet in the main floor of the house, it had been taken outside to the temporary place under the carport. Sweetie got it all hauled out and loaded into his little pick-up to go to the local landfill. Swept out the winter leaves, and tidied up the area. Found grandchildren's toys from last August when the family stayed with us....ahhhh, miss them all so much.
Pruned up the wild fushia bush and took down it's height. That and a hefty pruning of the Harry Lauder Walking Stick tree and we have some serious burn-barrel fires in store. Maybe our neighbor will be as accomodating as last year and haul it to his burn pile for disposal. First spring lawn mowing done. General clean up in the yard and it is already looking much better - ready for spring and new projects.
The kitchen vegetable garden needs tilling and new plantings and I'd like to expand the vegetable garden this year. My vision of it requires more back-breaking labor than either of us really want to expend, so looking for some easy short cuts to make more raised beds for growing more vegetables. I'd like to try the upside down tomatoes this year. I also thought of getting several half whiskey barrels and planting in them.
I've taken on gardening as a leisurely hobby, outdoor exercise and that great feeling of being connected to nature. But I've wanted to get serious about my kitchen vegetable garden as a means of producing some of our food. I'll NEVER want to learn how to do canning thought, but I'm receptive to the art of 'freezing' what I can of the harvest.
We had a small windfall of a bit of extra $, so I went out to the garden store where I spent 4 hours just looking at every item; envisioning my entire spring and summer and what I could do; then did a reality check and made a list of what I most wanted right now that would fit the small bonus $ amount. In my mind I spent several hundred $ but my reality was quite different than my mental shopping spree. In my mind I had lined up to buy 3 trees, 4 bushes, a new wrought iron with canopy outside room, redwood patio set, water fountain gardens for several places in the yard, trellises, wheelbarrow, electric roto-tiller, red lava rock, mulching, mini-greenhouses in several sizes, several more whiskey barrel planters and hundreds of packets of seeds, bulbs and tubers. WoW - had a great time imagining all I could buy....but the few 20 dollar bills in my wallet just wouldn't stretch that far.
With carefully pruning away my mental shopping, I made a list of what I could buy with my real available dollars. I bought pruning shears (boring), potting soil (boring), seed packets (fun - but I had to put about 50 packets back - over my budget), a new tree = Mt Fuji white cherry, the usual assortment of primroses, pansies, and a few other 2' starter flowers, and I found 3 summer tops at price I couldn't resist so I treated myself.
It was time to refer back to my Wee Garden website and update it some, and I learned something about the climate zone where I live in Pacific coastal area. It's not zone 8 like the gardening books and USDA climate zone tell me; it's zone 5 because of the Pacific winds and climate zone. Well, the good news is that with zone 5, the last frost is later than zone 8, so the planting season is later. Might explain why all the seeds I've started for the last 3 years don't seem to germinate. I need to start them later and actually create a greenhouse environment for them of heat, light and moisture. Forget tomatoes, no way in the climate zone I'm in with short, short hot season can I grow them from seed. Sounds like my instincts to buy starter vegetable plants from the nursery is well-founded.
Now where's those grand-darlings to help me with my yard. They really were very helpful and willing workers with the taskings of the yard. Emily hauling off sod to the back, Drew using the big person shovel to dig a hole, their fascination with the worms when we turned the soil.....ahhhhh, I need my families to live closer. All this training them towards their own independence and they are all making their own lives their own way in different parts of the country. I miss them all. I always wanted to own acerage that would allow for building several homes in one place and having family close by but I'm also wanting mostly that they flourish in their own lives.
posted by Lietta Ruger
Sunday, March 26, 2006
but I didn't speak out against the war because I didn't want anyone to be mad at me."
excerpt from opinion article in News-Leader.com, opinion section; Ozark Opinions
by Pastor Roger Ray of National Avenue Christian Church
title and link; Invasion of Iraq was without Justification
excerpt: And, sadly, we must recognize that in this chapter of world history the church, because of its ascent to war or its relative silence, was a partner to the murder of more than 100,000 innocent people.
'Temporary interruption' because I believed at that time lending what influence I could lend to the public discussion of war in Iraq would help influence an early end to the war. 2004 - 2006 I have learned how to become an 'activist', and I'm still learning.
Not until mid to late 2005 did I begin to see some of the churches question their position of silence on war in Iraq. It is regrettable it took the faith community so long to recognize the incongruous position of silence in the face of war-time as inconsistent with Christian teachings; or at least inconsistent with what I have come to have as a personal faith in appreciating Jesus as an example and role model, along with Ghandi, along with Martin Luther King Jr.
by Pastor Roger Ray of National Avenue Christian Church
title and link; Invasion of Iraq was without Justification
excerpt: And, sadly, we must recognize that in this chapter of world history the church, because of its ascent to war or its relative silence, was a partner to the murder of more than 100,000 innocent people.
In the months leading up to the war many pastors told one another that they were personally adamantly against the war but they said nothing publicly for fear of offending members of their church. I just wish that now they could tell the families who have lost fathers, sons, infant children, mothers and sisters, "I was against the war, but I didn't speak out against it because I didn't want anyone to be mad at me."
Or, in this season of Lent, to walk up to the foot of the cross and look up into the bloodied face of the crucified Christ and confess, "I knew the war was wrong, but I was afraid to say anything because my church wants me to always be a moderate on political issues......I hope you understand." end excerpt
I point to the above excerpt as it has been my own question when the community of churches and faith-base look back on their own positions regarding the Iraq war.
My own dismay with my local Episcopal church was the reticence and reluctance among our congregants to discuss the Iraq war. I began preparing my sermons to challenge the concept of war in Iraq in a faith-based context. While they tolerated my sermons as a lay-preacher (in training) in which I challenged the President's decision, the policies and politics that initiated a war and a faith-based response required our voices to speak out, they did not embrace such talk in church on Sundays. A catalyst moment came when Newshour with Jim Lehrer did a segment on military families speaking out. It was newsworthy at that time (Aug 2004) because the long-held tradition of military families is not one of speaking out publicily in what could be interpreted as disrespect; what could be construed as speaking against the Commander-in-Chief/President
I am both a lay-preacher and a military family. We live in a rural and somewhat remote area, off the grid towns and cities of I-5 in Western Washington. It's not a convenient drive for local newscasters and Newshour crew drove out here to film me giving such a sermon one Sunday in August 2004. The segment aired October 2004 and is still online at the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer website. Giving credit to our small, elderly congregants with traditional values that span generations of acculturation for them, I'd say they handled this highly unusual intrusion fairly well. However, for me, still in the training phase towards becoming a licensed Episcopal preacher (relevant in the Episcopal faith heirarchy to make this distinction) I was still in a 'discernment' process and seeking out my own 'calling'; my own 'ministry'. My struggle was with the reality of wearing two hats simultaneously; a military family with 2 loved ones deployed in war in Iraq and my training in faith ministry as a lay preacher.
'Temporary interruption' because I believed at that time lending what influence I could lend to the public discussion of war in Iraq would help influence an early end to the war. 2004 - 2006 I have learned how to become an 'activist', and I'm still learning.
Not until mid to late 2005 did I begin to see some of the churches question their position of silence on war in Iraq. It is regrettable it took the faith community so long to recognize the incongruous position of silence in the face of war-time as inconsistent with Christian teachings; or at least inconsistent with what I have come to have as a personal faith in appreciating Jesus as an example and role model, along with Ghandi, along with Martin Luther King Jr.
Unseen images of civil rights movement in Birmingham.
Negatives to positives
About the Project
These Birmingham News photographs of the civil rights movement have not been seen by the public. Until now. See more at al.com: Unseen. Unforgotten.
Why this is relevant to my blog is because I was 11 yrs old when our military family returned stateside after 4 + yrs overseas. My father, AF, stationed at Keesler AFB, in Mississippi and our family left Okinawa/Japan to relocate to Biloxi, Mississippi in 1962. Television in Japan and Okinawa did not have coverage of the growing Civil Rights movement at that time so it was a most startling discovery for me, at 11 yrs of age, to come back to our home country USA and right into the middle of this historic time.
My perspectives were that of an 11 yr old caucasian child, who had learned to embrace cultural differences. Imagine the confusion to come back to homeland to see our own embroiled in hating our own. No need to say the imprint left on me has stayed with me throughout my lifetime. The imprint of what hate can do to people; the imprint of marginalizing a segment of our own people within our own country; the imprint of discrimination at it's worst; the imprint of racism and hate crimes before such words were well-defined.
At this time of my life, while stationed at yet another military base, I was still forming impressions of adults and the adult world. I came to learn the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his non-violent advocacy to change the dynamics of relationship white to black in the deep south. In my later adult years, I came to admire the enormity of the movement he was leading, and the enormity of change via non-violent confrontation.
Later as I was still a child, the assassinations would follow; President John F. Kennedy; Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr; Malcolm X; Robert Kennedy. Oh yes, indelible impressions left on me at a time of re-introduction to my homeland.
By the time I did reach late teens and early adulthood, Vietnam war was raging and defining our options as young people in high school planning for our futures. It was not uncommon and in fact a necessary part of our discussions to ask each other 'what are you going to do about Vietnam war? Wait to see if you are drafted, go to college and get a deferrment, enlist in Natl Guard or Reserves, leave the country?'
Another movement was in full throttle; protest movement against war in Vietnam. I married my high school sweetheart, who was drafted and sent to Vietnam. I made a choice to become pregnant with our first child - in case he did not return. Another forced choice as the options were governed by war-time. We were not ready at 19 yrs old to begin a family, and had not there been the uncertainty of death or maiming in war-time, I'm sure we would have waited several years before beginning our family. I was then a young military wife, keeping the military tradition and culture and not speaking out publicly on the policies, politics and Commander-in-Chief at that time. I did not know how to feel about the protest movement of those years, and even now, decades later, I'm still not sure how I feel about it, having lived a different aspect of it at the time. I'm very sure though, that I would not encourage the young military wives of today with loved ones deployed in Iraq/Afghanistan to hold to the military traditionals of what it means to be a proud, good military wife by keeping silent and enduring stoically.
I can't say concisely what impressions all these turbulence times left on my mind but I can say that now in 2006 and into another turbulent time of dissent with the Iraq war and politics dividing our country into opposing camps of thought/views, it's not a bad time to take a look at our history in past 4 decades. It's ironic that my return to homeland put me in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1962 and now in March 2006, Biloxi doesn't exist any more due to the catastophic damage of Hurricane Katrina. While I saw a southern white population engaged in hating their black neighbors in 1962 = extreme abuse, now I see a primarily white political body engaged in policies of neglect and apathy for their neighbors in Mississippi and Louisiana.
I never planned to become an activist; my life work and profession has been more of that of an advocate. Yet, a war initiated in Iraq by my homeland at a time when I am now among what could be considered the tribal elders, is a time when I must shift to the life of an activist. I cannot leave a legacy to my adult children and grandchildren that does not include the reality of our country's history as they will inherit this homeland as their own and will have need of historical perspective to make their own decisions about their own actions, now and in the years forthcoming.
Lietta Ruger, March 26, 2006
Discovery in News archives leads to publication of unseen images of civil rights movement in Birmingham.
About the Project
These Birmingham News photographs of the civil rights movement have not been seen by the public. Until now. See more at al.com: Unseen. Unforgotten.
PHOTO GALLERIES
CHALLENGING SEGREGATION
Birth of A Movement Years after "separate but equal" was struck down, laws in Alabama still kept blacks and whites apart.
1956-1961 - See the photos
FREEDOM RIDERS
The Road to Change Freedom Riders were met with violence as they challenged the customs of segregation in Alabama.
1961 - See the photosCIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
The World Takes Notice The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. turned to civil disobedience when negotiation with business leaders foundered.
1963 - See the photosDESEGREGATING THE SCHOOLS
Difficult Lessons Black students' attempts to enroll at local universities were thwarted and sparked legal battles.
1962-1963 - See the photosTHE FIGHT FOR VOTING RIGHTS
Gaining A Voice Marchers walked for five days, 54 miles that led not only to Montgomery, but to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1964-1965 - See the photosWhy this is relevant to my blog is because I was 11 yrs old when our military family returned stateside after 4 + yrs overseas. My father, AF, stationed at Keesler AFB, in Mississippi and our family left Okinawa/Japan to relocate to Biloxi, Mississippi in 1962. Television in Japan and Okinawa did not have coverage of the growing Civil Rights movement at that time so it was a most startling discovery for me, at 11 yrs of age, to come back to our home country USA and right into the middle of this historic time.
My perspectives were that of an 11 yr old caucasian child, who had learned to embrace cultural differences. Imagine the confusion to come back to homeland to see our own embroiled in hating our own. No need to say the imprint left on me has stayed with me throughout my lifetime. The imprint of what hate can do to people; the imprint of marginalizing a segment of our own people within our own country; the imprint of discrimination at it's worst; the imprint of racism and hate crimes before such words were well-defined.
At this time of my life, while stationed at yet another military base, I was still forming impressions of adults and the adult world. I came to learn the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his non-violent advocacy to change the dynamics of relationship white to black in the deep south. In my later adult years, I came to admire the enormity of the movement he was leading, and the enormity of change via non-violent confrontation.
Later as I was still a child, the assassinations would follow; President John F. Kennedy; Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr; Malcolm X; Robert Kennedy. Oh yes, indelible impressions left on me at a time of re-introduction to my homeland.
By the time I did reach late teens and early adulthood, Vietnam war was raging and defining our options as young people in high school planning for our futures. It was not uncommon and in fact a necessary part of our discussions to ask each other 'what are you going to do about Vietnam war? Wait to see if you are drafted, go to college and get a deferrment, enlist in Natl Guard or Reserves, leave the country?'
Another movement was in full throttle; protest movement against war in Vietnam. I married my high school sweetheart, who was drafted and sent to Vietnam. I made a choice to become pregnant with our first child - in case he did not return. Another forced choice as the options were governed by war-time. We were not ready at 19 yrs old to begin a family, and had not there been the uncertainty of death or maiming in war-time, I'm sure we would have waited several years before beginning our family. I was then a young military wife, keeping the military tradition and culture and not speaking out publicly on the policies, politics and Commander-in-Chief at that time. I did not know how to feel about the protest movement of those years, and even now, decades later, I'm still not sure how I feel about it, having lived a different aspect of it at the time. I'm very sure though, that I would not encourage the young military wives of today with loved ones deployed in Iraq/Afghanistan to hold to the military traditionals of what it means to be a proud, good military wife by keeping silent and enduring stoically.
I can't say concisely what impressions all these turbulence times left on my mind but I can say that now in 2006 and into another turbulent time of dissent with the Iraq war and politics dividing our country into opposing camps of thought/views, it's not a bad time to take a look at our history in past 4 decades. It's ironic that my return to homeland put me in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1962 and now in March 2006, Biloxi doesn't exist any more due to the catastophic damage of Hurricane Katrina. While I saw a southern white population engaged in hating their black neighbors in 1962 = extreme abuse, now I see a primarily white political body engaged in policies of neglect and apathy for their neighbors in Mississippi and Louisiana.
I never planned to become an activist; my life work and profession has been more of that of an advocate. Yet, a war initiated in Iraq by my homeland at a time when I am now among what could be considered the tribal elders, is a time when I must shift to the life of an activist. I cannot leave a legacy to my adult children and grandchildren that does not include the reality of our country's history as they will inherit this homeland as their own and will have need of historical perspective to make their own decisions about their own actions, now and in the years forthcoming.
Lietta Ruger, March 26, 2006
Monday, March 13, 2006
Privatizing the Columbia Gorge forestland
Privatizing the Columbia Gorge
More information at link DK.
From Friends of the Columbia Gorge:
The US Forest Service is proposing to put 300,000 acres of what they call "disposable public lands" out to the highest bidder, including 730 acres in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. [...]
Properties on both sides of the Columbia Gorge are named on the potential sale list. These include lands in Corbett, above Sheppard's Dell and near Cascade Locks in Oregon. On the Washington side, land near Cape Horn, Wind Mountain and above the flooded Celilo Falls would be available to the highest bidder.
The Columbia Gorge is one of the crown jewels of the Pacific Northwest. (Even Reagan apparently recognized this, as it was in 1986 that the Gorge was named as the first National Scenic Areas.) And, bizarrely, even someone in THIS Administration seems to recognize its worth:
Ironically, the President's 2007 budget also calls for $1 million for further land acquisition in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
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